Well, it’s been a long time coming but I’ve finally figured it out, the perfect meatless copy of the P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps. If you have never had the P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps you’re missing out, they are the dish that pretty much put that restaurant on the map, and for good reason, they’re absolutely delicious.
Now, to pull back the curtain a little, I actually worked at P.F. Chang’s for a long time, years in fact, so I’ve eaten my share of the lettuce wraps and trust me, this recipe comes extremely close to the original. But guess what?? It’s completely meatless!
P.F. Chang’s actually has tofu lettuce wraps but these are totally different because they are meant to literally mimic the ground meat in the original. What you do here is take a brick of tofu and crumble it until it resembles the consistently of ground chicken.
Overall, this recipe is incredibly simple. It can be made in one pan and takes 30 minutes to cook. Most of the ingredients on here that you may not be used to cooking with like water chestnuts, hoisin sauce, and rice vinegar, can be easily found in the ethnic isle of any grocery store.
Also, I used butter lettuce instead of iceberg because it still has a delicious crunch, but a slightly softer texture which makes it easier to handle and roll into a wrap.
Finally, this recipe is amazing topped with a Sriracha mayonnaise sauce which can easily be thrown together by combining mayonnaise, Sriracha, lime juice and scallions and whisking. It’s creamy, tangy and spicy! Yum!
Please don’t forget to leave a comment and rate this recipe if you like it. Thanks so much!
Lots of Love,
Jackie & Andrew
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
lettuce wraps
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Ingredients
Lettuce Wraps
- 5 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 8 oz white button mushrooms chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 scallions sliced
- 8 oz canned water chestnuts drained, rinsed and chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger minced
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 2 heads butter lettuce torn off into individual cups
- chili paste for serving
Perfect Sriracha mayo
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 cup Sriracha
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp honey
Ingredients
Lettuce Wraps
Perfect Sriracha mayo
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Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic powder, ground ginger, paprika, rice vinegar, Sriracha, and maple syrup. Set aside.
- Line a thin strainer with a paper towel and crumble the tofu over the paper towel and press to squeeze the water out of it. Let it drain for 10 minutes at least to get all the excess water out of the tofu.
- Heat the sesame oil in a large pot and add the fresh ginger, garlic, water chestnuts and chopped mushrooms. Cook for 8 minutes until the mushrooms have released all their juices and they have evaporated.
- Next, add the tofu and a small dash of soy sauce just to add some color. Stir the tofu and ensure all of the liquids are out and evaporate as well. Spread the tofu out into the pan and press down with a spatula so it's flat. Cook for 3 minutes then flip it, press the other side and cook for 3 more minutes. The tofu should start to darken and crisp just slightly.
- Finally, add the sauce into the pan and toss the tofu fully in the sauce. Simmer the tofu in the sauce, stirring occasionally for 5 more minutes.
- Make the sriracha mayo by whisking the mayonnaise, sriracha, lime juice, rice vinegar and honey together in a bowl.
- Assemble by placing the ground tofu into small butter lettuce cups and top with either chili paste, Sriracha or Sriracha mayo.
Recipe Notes
- Hoisin sauce is a common sauce in Chinese cooking that adds a sweet and interesting almost black licorice flavor to dishes. You can find it in the ethnic isle of your grocery store.
- I use butter lettuce for these because they are easier to wrap, but you could also break off cups of iceberg.
- The original of this recipe has crispy rice sticks which can also be found in the ethnic isle of your grocery store. They can be boil to flash fried
How much tofu did you use? Recipe didn’t include this. Also, I’m assuming you use firm tofu, rather than soft or medium-firm, correct? Can’t wait to try this – it’s one of my favorite dishes and I’ve been wanting to try a vegan version.
Hi Fran! Thank you for noticing this! Yes I use extra firm tofu but I have made this with firm and it also works. As long as you don’t use silken you’re good. I use one block of tofu which is typically 14 ounces. hope that helps! Thank you!